SOCIOLOGY - I

BOOK REVIEW

UNSEEN: THE TRUTH ABOUT INDIA’S MANUAL SCAVENGERS

SUBMITTED TO: Prof. T. Kannan (Faculty, Sociology)

SUBMITTED BY: Adishree Krishnan (2022-5LLB-06)

Year I

Semester I

NALSAR UNIVERSITY OF LAW, HYDERABAD

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Introduction

This project aims to comprehensively review Bhasha Singh’s ‘Unseen: The Truth about India’s
Manual Scavengers’1- a polemic against the pervasive caste system in India, the inertial nature of
the governing authorities over decades together, and the combined effect of the two which
continues to perpetuate the inhumane practice of manual scavenging even today. Singh, who has
been studying and gathering data on manual scavenging in India since 2003, shares her
experiences of personally visiting manual scavengers across 11 states, recounting their stories
and shedding light on the differing cultural nuances prevailing in each, all the while portraying
the issue for what it truly is- a gross and seemingly impermeable effect of the caste system in
India.
Manual scavenging, under the Prohibition of Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act,
2013, is defined as “a person engaged or employed, at the commencement of this Act or at any
time thereafter, by an individual or local authority or an agency or a contractor, for manually
cleaning, carrying, disposing of, or otherwise handling in any manner, human excreta in an
insanitary latrine or in an open drain or pit into which the human excreta from the insanitary
latrines is disposed of, or on a railway track or in such other spaces or premises, as the Central
Government of a State Government may notify, before the excreta fully decomposes in such
manner as may be prescribed…”. It is a caste based occupation, mainly reserved for the Dalits,
with government reports stating that they make up a staggering 97% of the manual scavengers in
India.
The practice of manual scavenging, by its virtue of being such a direct consequence of the caste
system, makes it important to understand the intentionalities behind the construction of caste.
Caste is a social organisation which has been the chief characteristic of Indian society for over
2500 years. Literary evidence from the Early Vedic Period (1500-1000 BCE) displays the
earliest manifestations of the caste system as we know it today- through the existence of the
commanding arya varna, consisting of the light skinned Aryans, and the servile dasa varna. The
dark skinned Dravidians belonged to the dasa varna, which later came to be known as the slave

1
BHASHA SINGH, UNSEEN; the truth about india’s manual scavengers pg.3-281(Reenu Talwar,2014).

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caste. This racial segregation sustained itself on the beliefs of the light skinned, who considered
the darker races as sub-human, providing a legitimate avenue for discriminatory and exploitative
behaviour.
These racial classifications continued to be exacerbated through economisation and
politicisation. With the advent of economies and differentiated labour, such segregations were
utilised to ascribe certain occupations with a higher level of respectability, with their
performance being carried out by members of the upper castes and vice versa. The specialisation
of occupations led to the development of multiple subcategorisations within castes, which soon
developed into castes of their own. A certain degree of dominance persisted, with the upper
castes forcing the weaker to adopt menial and “lower” occupations, maintaining the status quo
through an exercise of their political powers.
As per the Hindu social order today, there exists 4 castes within the varna system- Brahmins,
Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras, with the Brahmins on the uppermost rung, and the Shudras on
the lowermost. Outside the varna system, there exists a fifth category- for the Dalits or
“untouchables”, who, today, remain one of the most marginalised communities in the country.
Studying the phenomenon of manual scavenging without the lens of caste is erroneous. Caste, by
nature, is an ascribed status- gained at one’s birth. It plays a vital role in determining a number of
occupations, based on the prevailing societal norms and standards. Manual scavenging is almost
exclusively reserved for the Dalit community, specifically, Dalit women, as a life sustaining job,
one that is attained involuntarily on a hereditary basis. The rigidity of the prevailing system
leaves them without the option of seeking alternative employment and, more importantly, has led
to a level of internalisation and numbing, to the point where “a whole community has accepted
that only cleaning the excrement of others is their work”. (Foreword: pg. xii2)

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Supra note 1.

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Analysis of ‘Unseen: The Truth about India’s Manual Scavengers’

The book is structured into 2 parts- the first part enumerates upon the author’s personal travels to
11 states across India, with her recalling various conversations had with members of the manual
scavenging community, while the second focuses on the public policy and political aspect of the
issue, where Bhasha Singh delves into the lackadaisical approach adopted by the government in
combating this issue, and the ways in which those in power continue to perpetuate it.

The book flows in a narrative form while documenting testimonials of various manual
scavengers- hard hitting conversations, which ultimately circle back to very basic, yet
unanswerable questions- “Why doesn’t the government help you, in spite of being aware of the
reach and illegality of the practice?”, “Why don’t you leave this work?”. These questions
address the deliberative design of a system constructed to generationally restrict certain people to
a lifetime of bestial shit picking, as well as the sheer apathy of individuals outside the profession,
who, in spite of being exposed to the visual daily on the streets, remain unaware and unfeeling
about the monstrosities of the practice.

The construction of the decades old system of manual scavenging is extremely thought out- to
such a level of detail that it is terrifying to think that certain members of a species willingly
created this system to entrap other members of the same species. There is also a gendered aspect
to it, with the Dalit women being the primary role bearers of the cleaning of dry latrines- of the
estimated 1.2 million manual scavengers in India, 95%-98% of them are women3 Oftentimes,
they are introduced to the practice at a young age by their parents, before officially doing so
upon marriage and attainment of maturity. The official entry of women into the practice of
manual scavenging is facilitated by the jajmani system- for example, in Madhya Pradesh, the
women are considered to be jagirdars, an old moniker for feudal lords. Each jagir, or feudal
property, refers to the houses they have to clean. (Introduction: pg. xxiv4) It is a matter of pride
for the mother-in-law to bequeath a portion of her dry latrines to her new daughter-in-law, along
with a scavenging basket and broom, unaware of the entrenched patriarchal and caste based

3
Shubham Kumar, Manual scavenging: women face double discrimination as caste and gender inequalities
converge, 55 EPW (2020).
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Supra note 1.

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structures which placed them in that situation. Women "inherit” these jagirs upon marriage,
ultimately spending their entire lives carrying human excrement to eke out a living, with
virtually no exit due to overwhelming pressures from their villages, communities and families5.
The caste system possesses an iron grip over the Dalit women, to the point where they become
indifferent to their own pain. In many situations, “the women consider their jagirdari their own
possession, something they have inherited as their own property.” (Pg. 1686) In spite of the sheer
egregiousness of the task, the wages earned are pitiable, with many women not even earning
cash, but kind in the form of two stale rotis. Wages too, fall very well below the minimum
standards, with many being illegally employed by contractors for wages in the range of Rs. 300-
500 a day7. The intricacies of the system ensure therefore, that by and large it is impossible for
an individual to break out of it- not without a relentless amount of resistance, which many in the
community cannot afford to possess. There is also a blatant gender discrimination present, which
comes to power especially in situations where the daughter-in-law refuses to accept her new
basket and broom, having never actually undertaken the practice of manual scavenging as a child
with her mother. These vociferous protests are usually met with the woman’s in-laws and
husband threatening to throw her out of their house as a consequence, which, unfortunately, is a
greater source of embarrassment and fear than literally cleaning human excreta to earn a living.
Thus, the women are forced to undertake the basest of jobs- in Bhasha Singh’s words, “Women
are the Dalits of the Dalits.”

An important aspect regarding the perpetuation of caste based systems is the presence of strong
societal stigma. From a social perspective, stigma serves a dehumanising purpose, othering and
devaluing individuals of specific communities- antithetical to the very essence of human dignity.
It signifies an imbalance of power, and is instrumental in shrouding practices in violation of
human rights, allowing for their continuation with impunity. The roots of the practice of manual
scavenging are so deeply embedded in the Dalit community that they (Dalits) have achieved a
position of stoicism regarding their situation, which is seen in their conversations with the
author, through statements like “Holding the shovel is for us what holding the pen is for you”

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Supra note 1.
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Supra note 1.
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Supra note 1.

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(pg.118), “This is our world. We don’t even come to know when the day breaks, when night
falls…” (pg. 859) and “Our mothers taught us that we were born for only this. Now it cannot be
thought on one’s own that we can change this stinking fate.” (pg. 9310)

This stigma remains apparent with the treatment meted out to the Dalit community by the others,
which the Dalits remain deeply conscious of. In spite of untouchability being abolished under
Article 17 of the Indian Constitution, along with the creation of acts like the Protection of Civil
Rights Act, 1955 to combat the same, societal realities have remained unwavering. “The
attitudinal conversion as perceived by Mahatma Gandhi among the upper castes did not occur,
nor did the annihilation of caste as envisioned by Ambedkar”11 The association of the Dalit
community with notions of being “unclean” and “dirty” is an important cause of the same. These
thoughts continue to surface through their interactions with the Dalit community- for example, in
the Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan, when the women collected their dues, they were expected to
kneel at the back of the house, while rotis would be thrown from above. (Introduction: xxv).
Similarly, in Jammu and Kashmir, the school where the children of manual scavengers study is
known as Vaatal School- Vaatal being a colloquial term for manual scavengers. They resided in
the filthiest mohallas in the state, distinctively segregated from the rest, which considered them
to be filthy as they did tachh paajin work. (pg. 6-912) This situation is further aggravated in
social situations of marriage and celebrations, where exclusionary measures become much more
apparent- during Ramadan, members of the Hela community of Uttar Pradesh are made to sit
separately at roza-iftari meals, where even children aren’t allowed to consume water from the
communal pitcher themselves. (pg. 15513) Not only that, there are also instances within the Hela
community of couples and families being disallowed from taking out wedding processions. As
recounted by one Lalibai- who had thrown a wedding celebration for her son despite strong
resistance from the upper castes- “They thrashed my husband, destroyed my house.” (pg. 16114)
The insidiousness of the caste based system is one that is constantly trying to be shaken off by

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Supra note 1.
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Supra note 1.
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Supra note 1.
11
Paul D’ Souza, Clean India, Unclean Indians Beyond the Bhim Yatra, 51 EPW 22, 23 (2016).
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Supra note 1.
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Supra note 1.
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Supra note 1.

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the manual scavengers, with active attempts being made at their self- Brahmanisation in order to
somehow link themselves to the upper castes, in a bid to lead a respected life. For example, many
joined the Gayatri Parivar, becoming Pandits and wearing the sacred thread. “In the Hela
community, people have begun to write Shaikh and Husain.” (pg. 16315) However, a change of
surname or even religion doesn’t erase the Dalit identity- the insidiousness of the caste system
remains lost to the upper classes, who remain determined to maintain the labels and associated
identities. This is reinforced by an incident the author becomes exposed to in Madhya Pradesh,
where seven manual scavengers wished to get their hair cut at the local barbershop. They posited
a condition, whereby they promised to leave for manual scavenging in the evening as long as
they each received a haircut by the end of the day. The barbershops, which were run by Rajputs,
were reluctant to touch them, let alone actually give them a haircut. An attempt at reasoning with
the local villagers produced an astounding result- the villagers were willing to spend funds and
install flush toilets in the community rather than “upset the system” with a simple haircut. (pg.
16416) This dogmatism on the part of the more privileged castes is what ultimately continues and
furthers the casteist mentality, making it harder and harder to dissociate it from any sphere of
Indian society.

While on the one hand there is sharp disgust and antipathy expressed towards the manual
scavenger castes, the other showcases a display of pure ignorance, in spite of being exposed to
the act of “shit picking” on a daily basis- be it during commute or in societies. They are looked
at, but not truly seen, their issues never being aired on any public forum whatsoever. The author
too, acknowledges being a culprit of this behaviour, stating that she herself saw the act of manual
scavenging as a caste based malpractice at the age of thirty three. (Introduction: xxvi17) It is vital,
therefore, to understand the pure evil meted out to these workers- their lives stripped of its basic
dignity and being reduced to one of cleaning human excrement manually and transporting it on
their heads. The oppressiveness of the act makes it irrefutably criminal, but at the same time, the
prevalence of it in every facet of Indian society, as well as its well coordinated machinery and
systematic generational reproduction makes it banal in nature. The ascription of terms like
“Dabbu-wali”, “Balti-wali”, “Tina-wali”, “Thottikar” and “Paaki/Peeti” further displays the

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Supra note 1.
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Supra note 1.
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Supra note 1.

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mechanical view regarding manual scavengers held by upper castes. All of the above names arise
from the work undertaken by the community- the kinds of tools utilised by them- which, over
time, gradually replace their birth name, making them yet another nameless figure bereft of their
humanity and forced into subservience by an age old system. Their commodification adds yet
another veil to an already invisible world.
The world of manual scavenging is truly unseen, in the sense that its true nature can only be
understood by someone who has experienced it from within. Any attempt made by individuals in
understanding this world to as great an extent as possible, as faced by the author first hand, is
treated with suspicion and hesitancy initially, and rightly so. After all, in a world where one has
been flagrantly mistreated for decades together, the arrival of someone whose intentions serve
the contrary does invite a certain degree of hostility. An important way of attempting to
understand and change the intricacies of this system is to actively view Indian society as one
devoid of caste- a process of de-casting oneself- and actually persevere to understand the human
suffering endured underneath the garb of a social construction. The manual scavenging women,
in this regard, possess an acute awareness of the prejudices held against them by society at large,
and know how to test the efficacy of the methods adopted by an individual attempting to de-caste
themselves- through a close observation of their reactions to an invitation to their home or for a
meal, looking for the presence or absence of any Brahmanical thought governing their decisions.
While their awakened consciousness must be lauded, it becomes important to question the degree
of potency of the system itself- and the reasons behind such high degrees of distrust.

Apart from societal alienation and oppression, manual scavengers face a host of other issues,
especially health. The dehumanising practice is responsible for one death in every five days,
according to a 2018 report by the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis. “Manual
scavengers are exposed to the most virulent forms of viral and bacterial infections that affect
their skin, eyes, limbs, respiratory and gastro-intestinal systems”, with tuberculosis cases being
rampant in these communities. Apart from these, hair loss, rotting of skin, asthma and nausea
remain complications arising out of extended contact with night soil. It is ironic how women
engaged in such work are deemed “swachhkaar” in some places, a sanitised and sheltered term
provided to one of the most dangerous and unclean tasks known to mankind. Rather than
questioning the kind of health related risks- which arise out of manual scavenging- that are faced

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by the Dalits, one should wonder how, with not nearly adequate protective gear, the community
is managing to survive in the first place. A big health concern posed by such work is its negative
effects on pregnant women, specifically, their foetuses. During her visit to Delhi, the author
encountered Meena, a woman who had continued cleaning dry latrines throughout her
pregnancy, eventually catching an infection in her eighth month, which adversely affected her
child. What makes the situation infinitesimally worse, is the sad reality that there is a serious
absence of reliable research on issues as well as the state of manual scavengers, making it harder
to resort to immediate corrective measures before eventually focusing on a macro approach at
eradicating the issue at large. Besides health issues, there are also other unnoticed but material
side effects faced by scavengers- in one of the many conversations in the book, the author gets to
know of the difficulties faced by the women of the community when it comes to the consumption
of yellow dal- an ordinarily intrinsic part of one’s diet. Their discomfort is owed to the fact that it
bears a striking resemblance to the excrement they are made to sweep up and clean on a daily
basis. Although not a primary health issue normally considered in the analysis of manual
scavenging, it signifies its barbaric nature, which eventually strips one of their humanity, making
them insensate to their own pain and suffering.
The practice of manual scavenging is directly related to a severe lack of sanitation facilities. “As
per the World Health Report, 1999, only 49% of the urban population and merely 14% of the
urban population have adequate facility for excreta disposal.” This situation becomes more
magnified in a country like India, where practices of dry latrines and open defecation exist. It is a
universal truth that the inhumane practice continues to persist, in spite of government policies,
reports and laws being passed to achieve the contrary. Although being an issue of widespread
concern, there yet to be any substantial, on the ground transformation, which can be attributed to
the laxity of the government. “A blatant example of this apathy is the fact that the Government of
India has allocated in its Union Budget Rs. 100 crore twice in the financial years 2011-12 and
2012-13, but did not spend a single penny out of it.” (Introduction: xxxiii18) The perplexing
aspect of this statement lies in the fact that the money remained unused even though there are
26,06,278 insanitary latrines across India, out of which human excreta is removed manually in
7,94,390 of them.

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Supra note 1.

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Political inaction regarding the issue of manual scavenging is obvious. This can be simply
proven through a simple examination of the legislations enacted by the various authorities over
the years regarding the stoppage of manual scavenging. The very first instance of a legislation
regarding the same was in 1993, with the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction
of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993. The first instance of blatant disregard on the part of the
ruling government lies in the fact that the act, passed in 1993, was given Presidential assent only
in 1997- meaning it took a long 4 years for a piece of legislation to make its way from the
Parliament to a certain desk at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. If this wasn’t enough, the act only applied
to a certain number of states, placing the responsibility on the others to enact their own. Hence,
from the very beginning itself, the act’s purview lacked comprehensiveness. It is saddening to
see that, a practice such as manual scavenging, which is violative of innumerable provisions in
the Constitution, including the all too important Article 21, faces such a dismal show of
eagerness by the government concerning its eradication. The 1993 legislation also failed to have
any actual deterring effect, owing to its measly allocation of Rs. 2000 as a fine for violating any
of the provisions under the law. It also faced a serious error in judgement through its incomplete
definition of a manual scavenger, keeping sewage workers entirely outside the considerations of
the Act.

It is much more relevant however, to scrutinise the current manual scavenging laws put in place
by the government. The latest amendment to the law took its form in 2013, through the
Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. An
important amendment made from its predecessor was the addition of sewage workers to the list
of dangerous occupations put forward under Section 2(d) of the act, which detailed the
conditions necessary for a work to come under “hazardous cleaning”. However, it still failed as it
didn’t include the situation of a sewage worker wearing protective gear under Section 2(d),
which implies that a person satisfying such conditions would not, under the law, be engaged in
hazardous cleaning. Under Section 2(g)(b), the act lays down the need for protective gear as a
precursor to any work involving manual scavenging, but doesn’t enumerate upon what exactly
constitutes such gear. This provides a gaping loophole, providing for situations where gear,
which is actually inadequate for such work, is deemed to be adequate by an authority, thereby
continuing to expose workers to the sickening conditions of cleaning human excreta, poorly

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protected. The act also proves to be contradictory in a number of places- it states that the manual
cleaning of sewers and septic tanks is impermissible whatsoever, however Section 2(g)(b)
provides for an interpretation where it remains possible with the presence of protective gear. This
act provides for a slightly more viable avenue for the eradication of the practice of manual
scavenging on paper, however practically, it hasn’t served its purpose- dry latrines continue to
persist, and their cleaning even today is still carried out by the Dalit community.

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Conclusion

Manual scavenging as a practice is one that has aggrandised with the advent of
urbanisation. Over time, the communities which undertake the task of manual scavenging have
seen a gradual shift from rural agricultural occupations, to becoming an indispensable part of the
urban labour market, both in the formal and the informal sector. State policies too, have played a
part in the gradual displacement of members of marginal castes to the occupation of manual
scavenging in cities. Today, they are deemed as indispensable functionaries of the state- which
employs and pays over a million scavengers. These vested interests of the state, therefore, play
an active role in its hesitancy in formulating legislation to combat manual scavenging.

Ultimately Bhasha Singh’s book, ‘Unseen: The Truth about India’s Manual Scavengers’ sheds
light on the pervasiveness of the caste system in India, and awakens the reader to the worldview
of a powerless community, shackled and stagnated by the caste system, patriarchal notions and
the ineffective workings of the judiciary, executive and legislature.

This book provides virtually no avenue for even considering a rapprochement between the
manual scavenging community and the rest of the country. It serves as a worthwhile treatise for
any individual looking to understand the nuances of the Indian manual scavenging system and its
interplay with caste, gender roles, politics and economics. It is a significant insight into a
community mired in the tangles of exploitation, subjugation and indignity.

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